Kendrick Lamar + SZA - All The Stars

Kendrick and SZA are the heroes we need to save us from mediocre film soundtracks.

Banger

Movie tie-in songs aren’t exactly renowned for their quality. Remember Good Charlotte and Waka Flocka Flame’s team-up for the Pixels soundtrack? Probably not, but trust us, it was terrible.

SZA’s ‘Doves in the Wind’ was a highlight of her recent album ‘Ctrl’, and featured a guest appearance from K-Dot, meaning their pairing on the first song from upcoming Marvel blockbuster Black Panther makes slightly more sense than Good Charlotte linking up with Waka Flocka.

So the question remains: could Kendrick Lamar and SZA be the heroes we need to save us from mediocre film soundtracks? ‘All The Stars’ is the answer to that question, and luckily for us, it’s a resounding yes.

Kendrick raps on themes of conflict and regret, while SZA’s rousing and emotional chorus paints a picture of a love that isn’t in anyone’s best interests. These heavy topics are borne along by a spacey instrumental, driven forward by a pounding drum sample that perfectly fits with the feeling of hope-tinged sadness woven into the track.

It’s almost enough to make you forget this song is intended to soundtrack a movie about a grown man dressing up as a cat to fight crime. Jake Hawkes

Rina Sawayama was always going to be a pop mastermind, but with her debut album out and already gaining the kind of critical acclaim that makes a career, she’s quickly becoming something far more than she ever imagined.